of knife and fork at the school in Albany, and, like Robert, he was
fastidious at the table.

Monsieur Jolivet, after his manner, gave them much of his own presence.
One must be polite to the Bostonnais at such a time. He discoursed quite
freely of Montreal, and of its advantages as a great trading post with
the Indians, who already brought there vast quantities of furs. It would
become one of the greatest and most brilliant jewels in the French
crown, second perhaps only to Paris. But for the present, the chief
glory of New France could be seen only at Quebec Ah, when the Bostonnais
arrived there they would behold great lords and great ladies!

The three listened, each interested in his own way. Robert's fancy saw
the silken splendor of a vice-regal court, and, anxious to know the
larger world, he was more glad than ever that he had come upon this
errand, dangerous though it had proved to be.

They sat a while after the dinner was over, looking down at the town and
the great view beyond, a clear moon and brilliant stars casting a silver
light which illuminated almost like the day. They saw lights gleaming
in houses, and now and then shadowy figures passing. Out in the river a
boat with a mast rocked in the current, and Robert believed it was the
_Frontenac_ of Louis de Galisonnière.

As the dusk thickened over the great river, the island, the hills and
the forest, Hochelaga seemed very small, and the inn of the excellent
Monsieur Jolivet was just a tiny point of light in all that vast
darkness. It shone, nevertheless, by contrast, and was a little island
of warmth and comfort in the sea of the wilderness. Monsieur Jolivet,
who was deeply interested in the Bostonnais and the proud young